Christofer was waiting to hear if the other person would agree on showing him around or not. The boy was slightly disappointed when Kete told him that he didn't exactly know the area.
Ugh.... Must have either been a new student in town or someone that came to a convention that was held in the town. But wait, if there was a gathering, why did all the other people look normal? Or, well... He did seem to stumble upon a freaking blue alien before, so it was still a possibility. And what about that agressive lady? Maybe... Maybe she and the people with here were a cosplayer group?
Or then he was just crazy. Maybe they all were crazy! It was still a possibility...
"Well..." he started stowly "You still know it better than I do." And it was pretty much the truth. Even if it woud have just been a few days, it was more than an hour and Kete seemed to know where they were, although the place was very strange.
The boy sighed as Kete was distracted. Would going with them really be a good idea? They could get in trouble and that certainly wouldn't be of any help... Toffi would scratch his head as he looked at Kete, not understanding a single word he spoke, except maybe the fact that he thought that the 'something something' that was on the sky looked big.
Waiting, Christofer's eyes wandered around the park, when suddenly his eyes spotted a new 'person'. He was startled by the looks of this new arriver. Was it another one of those people that dressed up? Yea. Most definitely. What the heck.
The German backed away as the new stranger started approaching them. They spoke a strange language too, who knows what they were up to. Christofer did instantly consider running away, far, but restrained himself from doing it just yet. His ears would be showing a sign of 'being afraid' and his stance would be that of a person ready to punch you and then flee
Ugh.... Must have either been a new student in town or someone that came to a convention that was held in the town. But wait, if there was a gathering, why did all the other people look normal? Or, well... He did seem to stumble upon a freaking blue alien before, so it was still a possibility. And what about that agressive lady? Maybe... Maybe she and the people with here were a cosplayer group?
Or then he was just crazy. Maybe they all were crazy! It was still a possibility...
"Well..." he started stowly "You still know it better than I do." And it was pretty much the truth. Even if it woud have just been a few days, it was more than an hour and Kete seemed to know where they were, although the place was very strange.
The boy sighed as Kete was distracted. Would going with them really be a good idea? They could get in trouble and that certainly wouldn't be of any help... Toffi would scratch his head as he looked at Kete, not understanding a single word he spoke, except maybe the fact that he thought that the 'something something' that was on the sky looked big.
Waiting, Christofer's eyes wandered around the park, when suddenly his eyes spotted a new 'person'. He was startled by the looks of this new arriver. Was it another one of those people that dressed up? Yea. Most definitely. What the heck.
The German backed away as the new stranger started approaching them. They spoke a strange language too, who knows what they were up to. Christofer did instantly consider running away, far, but restrained himself from doing it just yet. His ears would be showing a sign of 'being afraid' and his stance would be that of a person ready to punch you and then flee
"... Another universe, eh... ?" - The subject definitely wasn't unfamiliar to the Ranger. - "Yeah, I dig it. 'Kinda."
Somehow, the Ranger was already getting used to this confusion. It's not like that going in the blind hasn't been a part of his job. Even though, that was too much. Shrugging off any thoughts, the Masked Man followed behind the Captain and his apparent wife.
"I don't know why you even need me. You can just tell that by how untroubled you look like. It seems you're used to diving straight ahead enemy territory, huh?" It's not like Mad Ranger had much of a choice. He would only buckle up in one of the seats and put his life on the couple's hands. It has always been like this. Trade his life for a couple of millions or mass destruction weaponry. That's how the Ranger worked and it wouldn't make any difference if he did the same with Petrovalyc. Whatever end was waiting for him, the Mad Ranger was already prepared to counter it... Or to accept it, at least.
... However, deep within very foundations of what composed to be the Mad Ranger's existance, something was not right. The Captain could feel it. An occult aura pulsing through the very composition of the Ranger. And it was beyond his creepy garment and armor. The Ranger was not alone. There was something else, SOMEONE else.
Somehow, the Ranger was already getting used to this confusion. It's not like that going in the blind hasn't been a part of his job. Even though, that was too much. Shrugging off any thoughts, the Masked Man followed behind the Captain and his apparent wife.
"I don't know why you even need me. You can just tell that by how untroubled you look like. It seems you're used to diving straight ahead enemy territory, huh?" It's not like Mad Ranger had much of a choice. He would only buckle up in one of the seats and put his life on the couple's hands. It has always been like this. Trade his life for a couple of millions or mass destruction weaponry. That's how the Ranger worked and it wouldn't make any difference if he did the same with Petrovalyc. Whatever end was waiting for him, the Mad Ranger was already prepared to counter it... Or to accept it, at least.
... However, deep within very foundations of what composed to be the Mad Ranger's existance, something was not right. The Captain could feel it. An occult aura pulsing through the very composition of the Ranger. And it was beyond his creepy garment and armor. The Ranger was not alone. There was something else, SOMEONE else.
Aelyn-Paeryc seemed amused with the Ranger's reference to the his and Alexa's generally untroubled demeanor. This was indicated by a little half smile, which did seem genuine enough. "Well there's no use in worrying about everything." he said - something in his expression, however faint, might have hinted to the possibility that he recognized the humor in that statement. "But really, we're sort of...hard to get rid of."
"Like Jehovan swamp flies." Alexa piped in frankly, from the pilot's bubble, as the little vessel began to lift silently into the air. Aelyn assented to this with a nod.
"And as far as needing you? Well your implication is right - I might not need you at all. Your presence might serve no purpose and the resources I provide you with might be completely wasted - but like I said before; you don't get to owning that-" He pointed a finger upward, at which point it would become apparent that there was a skylight which composed a good deal of the ceiling. It curved with the form of the shuttlecraft and was apparently tinted from the outside.
Through it could be seen the impossibly large starship which continued to dominate the sky.
"Without thoroughly understanding the importance of...people."
"That was very poorly worded." Alexa informed him dryly, not looking back. "No poetic value whatsoever, I'm disappointed in you."
"Noted. I'll be sure to write you a haiku later." He replied with equal dryness, before continuing with a slightly renewed tone. "What I mean is that The Stella Viventium is the single largest man-made object in the Galaxy. That means to build it required the single largest collection of cooperating individuals - I needed a lot of friends."
"Self worth issues." From the Peanut Gallery Pilot. Aelyn largely ignored her, save for a half-dirty glance in her direction, which of course she could not see - but she knew it was there. The two of them seemed to never stop bantering and sniping at each other, but it didn't seem like passive aggression. It was almost playful. Almost.
Aelyn continued. "And I still do. Largest ship needs the largest crew and every one of them counts. I have the opportunity to gain a new ally and the resources to see it through so there's no reason not to...Plus I'm admittedly somewhat curious about the Mad Ranger." He shrugged, helpless to squelch the mild fascination.
But he could feel something else, too. Of course he was interested in learning more about this folklore boogeyman, this Masked Man of whom so many stories had stemmed - and it seemed like he wasn't even aware of the fact - but there was something more. Something wasn't right behind that mask and maybe Aelyn simply couldn't resist the temptation...Not to pry, perhaps, but to stick around?
The shuttlecraft had left the atmosphere and was now heading straight for The Stella Viventium. (If the topic was breached, Aelyn would explain that the technology used to pop them into existence as they had arrived was only one way unless both destinations were in open space. It could not be used on a ground target without having some very weird and usually deadly results, which were best avoided rather than worked around.
But given the speed at which the average small carrier shuttle could travel, plus the obvious fact that despite its less-than-aerodynamic shape (Not that aerodynamics mattered in space) it was much faster than average, the immensity of The Stella Viventium was only being further exemplified. This was because despite the fact that they were obviously moving toward it at a high speed, it didn't seem to be getting any closer.
It did after a while of course, and details began to emerge. What might have looked like windows were actually incredibly large groups of windows. What could have been antennae were towers or loading appendages. The towers atop it were skyscrapers.
And then, just like that, it was gone and they were instead looking at a greyish metal wall, just outside the vessel. This did not startle either of the Petrovalycs in the slightest.
"Oh, and if you're wondering why my boat is the size of a city..." Aelyn began as he stood, the door opening, "It's because it is a city. With a civilian population of about one point three million."
As he said these words an incredible scene would open up before them. Indeed it was like standing in the pentouse of a New York city apartment and looking out over Manhattan. In fact the ship was about the size of Manhattan, at least to anyone who knew what Manhattan was.
The protruding towers visible from the outside of the ship begun here - or rather, far below where the trio were standing, which was on a high ledge. They were the ones with windows that looked into space. They were the dozen or two-dozen story skyscrapers that breached over the single, great arcing ceiling that acted as a sky. Artificially lit of course, by bands of light that ran along. They brightened and dimmed on a human-friendly schedule.
There was a skyline. The buildings were all made from various metals, coppery shades, silvers and greys, the occasional beige and white. Many of them were tall enough to breach the 'ceiling' and extend outward, but most left a significant amount of space between the roof and said ceiling. The result was...a fully enclosed city.
And there were people! The 'cars' could be seen below, not quite as small as ants, but close. They were compact and hovering, and traffic seemed to flow quite smoothly. There were some rails that wove around the buildings, into the air above them and back down, on which some sort of railcar went whizzing about. The Stella Viventium was full of people just living their lives, going about their business, no differently than those who lived in Earth City or Kartupelis. (well, maybe differently than Kartupelis.)
Whether or not the moment was appreciated by the Ranger, it was apparently not appreciated by Alexa, who said "You do this every time, Ael, isn't the whole 'showing-off-that-you-own-a-city thing getting a little old?"
"Ah, my dear Alex-" He said with a little grin and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "Excessive drama never gets old. And I think I've got the right to show off, don't you?"
"No." She retorted, but leaned into the affection.
"Too bad."
And then Aelyn heard something that he didn't like, and immediately he was very displeased once more.
"Are you kidding?" He said, finger to his ear to indicate that he was speaking via BrainPal, "How the @#$% did they break the Goddamn isofield?" He listened, and growled lowly - it as the most animated he had been yet, which still wasn't saying much. "Just keep the thing contained long enough to contact whoever's running the thing. As many isofield layers as you need. Yeah. It'll get through them eventually but we need to stall it. I don't want something that can poke through spacial rifts anywhere near my city...Yep...yes. Then track it back to the source and we'll see who shot it. Right. Okay."
Then he sighed.
"Ranger, if you'll excuse us we need to go figure out who in the name of God is so persistently bothering us...If you'd like to wait here for a few minutes Drakis will be coming around to get you situated - of course you've got free range of the ship save for doors with red Xs on them, which are locked anyway."
And with that he was off, walking at a brisk pace to a door at the other side of the outcropping, Alexa close behind. And then they were gone, and the Ranger was alone over the vista that was the city of Stella Viventium.
Kete shrugged. "Good point. Just don't go complaining about the ticket price if the tour gets off-track and dead lost. No refunds." He said, shaking a finger.
Of course Kete was ever-present in both their heads. It was easier here where he could focus, plus he seemed to be growing accustomed at last to the weird electromagnetic disturbance that had been keeping him so out of sorts. The same electromagnetic disturbance, as it happened, that had caused a whole mess of collisions in the southern jungle.
As per normal he would refrain from digging about in the weird guy's memories. Memories were private, to access them without permission was too much of a violation for Kete to do it unless he absolutely, positively needed to. Besides, it took all the fun out of meeting and getting to know new people if you already knew everything about them within the first few minutes.
It also kept him from mouthing off things that he shouldn't - or couldn't - have known. Less questions that way. Kete liked less questions.
But because of his gradually returning clarity, Kete was becoming increasngly aware that there was something very wrong with this guy. It was the way he reacted to everything - impossible to put to words but it struck Kete as a sense of...loss? Not in the traditional sense of course, but rather in that it seemed like he was missing something. Some vital piece of information that his brain wouldn't want to accept even if spoon-fed it.
He was also becoming increasingly aware of the Eoclu woman's interest in him. In fact when her presence had first appeared in his mind he had vaguely resented that the hunter had become the hunted...Ignoring all the trouble he had caused in that lobby not too long before. A fluke, surely.
But it made him uncmfortable that she was finding him so peculiar - because he recognized the feeling. It was an ndividual sensitive to these things, interested in these things - that being people like him who didn't go about volenteering information when they didn't have excessive reason to do so.
He was going to have to be careful.
Kete pretended to be surprised when the Eoclu woman approached and spoke her affectionate term for him. "Oh, heya Nirix!" He greeted with a wave, then turned back to the weird guy. "This is my friend Nirix, she's an intersteller superspy." A motion of the hands, splayed fingers so as to imply, clearly in jest, the awe of it.
"And Nirix, this is...ah..." Drat. Had he said his name yet? Kete knew it of course since it was one of the 'RAM' memories - the thoughts that accompanied emotions in the 'front' of the brain, stored there for easy retreival. It was like standing in front of a window in one's home. Kete had no problem looking back in - but if they went off he wouldn't go following.
But he couldn't remember on his life whether he had been told Christofer's name or not. So he went under the assumption that he had not, since it was better to seem forgetful than to seem like a wanted criminal with psychic mind powers. Go figure.
"Ah...We haven't been introduced to each other yet, have we?" He said, becoming more confident that it was in fact how things had gone. Rather suddenly he extended a hand - perhaps too suddenly he thought afterward, considering that the guy was still, it seemed, sketched out of his wits by...whatever.
"Ketin Clarke." He said, "Or Kete, for short." he pronounced it like 'Pete'.
"Like Jehovan swamp flies." Alexa piped in frankly, from the pilot's bubble, as the little vessel began to lift silently into the air. Aelyn assented to this with a nod.
"And as far as needing you? Well your implication is right - I might not need you at all. Your presence might serve no purpose and the resources I provide you with might be completely wasted - but like I said before; you don't get to owning that-" He pointed a finger upward, at which point it would become apparent that there was a skylight which composed a good deal of the ceiling. It curved with the form of the shuttlecraft and was apparently tinted from the outside.
Through it could be seen the impossibly large starship which continued to dominate the sky.
"Without thoroughly understanding the importance of...people."
"That was very poorly worded." Alexa informed him dryly, not looking back. "No poetic value whatsoever, I'm disappointed in you."
"Noted. I'll be sure to write you a haiku later." He replied with equal dryness, before continuing with a slightly renewed tone. "What I mean is that The Stella Viventium is the single largest man-made object in the Galaxy. That means to build it required the single largest collection of cooperating individuals - I needed a lot of friends."
"Self worth issues." From the Peanut Gallery Pilot. Aelyn largely ignored her, save for a half-dirty glance in her direction, which of course she could not see - but she knew it was there. The two of them seemed to never stop bantering and sniping at each other, but it didn't seem like passive aggression. It was almost playful. Almost.
Aelyn continued. "And I still do. Largest ship needs the largest crew and every one of them counts. I have the opportunity to gain a new ally and the resources to see it through so there's no reason not to...Plus I'm admittedly somewhat curious about the Mad Ranger." He shrugged, helpless to squelch the mild fascination.
But he could feel something else, too. Of course he was interested in learning more about this folklore boogeyman, this Masked Man of whom so many stories had stemmed - and it seemed like he wasn't even aware of the fact - but there was something more. Something wasn't right behind that mask and maybe Aelyn simply couldn't resist the temptation...Not to pry, perhaps, but to stick around?
The shuttlecraft had left the atmosphere and was now heading straight for The Stella Viventium. (If the topic was breached, Aelyn would explain that the technology used to pop them into existence as they had arrived was only one way unless both destinations were in open space. It could not be used on a ground target without having some very weird and usually deadly results, which were best avoided rather than worked around.
But given the speed at which the average small carrier shuttle could travel, plus the obvious fact that despite its less-than-aerodynamic shape (Not that aerodynamics mattered in space) it was much faster than average, the immensity of The Stella Viventium was only being further exemplified. This was because despite the fact that they were obviously moving toward it at a high speed, it didn't seem to be getting any closer.
It did after a while of course, and details began to emerge. What might have looked like windows were actually incredibly large groups of windows. What could have been antennae were towers or loading appendages. The towers atop it were skyscrapers.
And then, just like that, it was gone and they were instead looking at a greyish metal wall, just outside the vessel. This did not startle either of the Petrovalycs in the slightest.
"Oh, and if you're wondering why my boat is the size of a city..." Aelyn began as he stood, the door opening, "It's because it is a city. With a civilian population of about one point three million."
As he said these words an incredible scene would open up before them. Indeed it was like standing in the pentouse of a New York city apartment and looking out over Manhattan. In fact the ship was about the size of Manhattan, at least to anyone who knew what Manhattan was.
The protruding towers visible from the outside of the ship begun here - or rather, far below where the trio were standing, which was on a high ledge. They were the ones with windows that looked into space. They were the dozen or two-dozen story skyscrapers that breached over the single, great arcing ceiling that acted as a sky. Artificially lit of course, by bands of light that ran along. They brightened and dimmed on a human-friendly schedule.
There was a skyline. The buildings were all made from various metals, coppery shades, silvers and greys, the occasional beige and white. Many of them were tall enough to breach the 'ceiling' and extend outward, but most left a significant amount of space between the roof and said ceiling. The result was...a fully enclosed city.
And there were people! The 'cars' could be seen below, not quite as small as ants, but close. They were compact and hovering, and traffic seemed to flow quite smoothly. There were some rails that wove around the buildings, into the air above them and back down, on which some sort of railcar went whizzing about. The Stella Viventium was full of people just living their lives, going about their business, no differently than those who lived in Earth City or Kartupelis. (well, maybe differently than Kartupelis.)
Whether or not the moment was appreciated by the Ranger, it was apparently not appreciated by Alexa, who said "You do this every time, Ael, isn't the whole 'showing-off-that-you-own-a-city thing getting a little old?"
"Ah, my dear Alex-" He said with a little grin and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "Excessive drama never gets old. And I think I've got the right to show off, don't you?"
"No." She retorted, but leaned into the affection.
"Too bad."
And then Aelyn heard something that he didn't like, and immediately he was very displeased once more.
"Are you kidding?" He said, finger to his ear to indicate that he was speaking via BrainPal, "How the @#$% did they break the Goddamn isofield?" He listened, and growled lowly - it as the most animated he had been yet, which still wasn't saying much. "Just keep the thing contained long enough to contact whoever's running the thing. As many isofield layers as you need. Yeah. It'll get through them eventually but we need to stall it. I don't want something that can poke through spacial rifts anywhere near my city...Yep...yes. Then track it back to the source and we'll see who shot it. Right. Okay."
Then he sighed.
"Ranger, if you'll excuse us we need to go figure out who in the name of God is so persistently bothering us...If you'd like to wait here for a few minutes Drakis will be coming around to get you situated - of course you've got free range of the ship save for doors with red Xs on them, which are locked anyway."
And with that he was off, walking at a brisk pace to a door at the other side of the outcropping, Alexa close behind. And then they were gone, and the Ranger was alone over the vista that was the city of Stella Viventium.
Kete shrugged. "Good point. Just don't go complaining about the ticket price if the tour gets off-track and dead lost. No refunds." He said, shaking a finger.
Of course Kete was ever-present in both their heads. It was easier here where he could focus, plus he seemed to be growing accustomed at last to the weird electromagnetic disturbance that had been keeping him so out of sorts. The same electromagnetic disturbance, as it happened, that had caused a whole mess of collisions in the southern jungle.
As per normal he would refrain from digging about in the weird guy's memories. Memories were private, to access them without permission was too much of a violation for Kete to do it unless he absolutely, positively needed to. Besides, it took all the fun out of meeting and getting to know new people if you already knew everything about them within the first few minutes.
It also kept him from mouthing off things that he shouldn't - or couldn't - have known. Less questions that way. Kete liked less questions.
But because of his gradually returning clarity, Kete was becoming increasngly aware that there was something very wrong with this guy. It was the way he reacted to everything - impossible to put to words but it struck Kete as a sense of...loss? Not in the traditional sense of course, but rather in that it seemed like he was missing something. Some vital piece of information that his brain wouldn't want to accept even if spoon-fed it.
He was also becoming increasingly aware of the Eoclu woman's interest in him. In fact when her presence had first appeared in his mind he had vaguely resented that the hunter had become the hunted...Ignoring all the trouble he had caused in that lobby not too long before. A fluke, surely.
But it made him uncmfortable that she was finding him so peculiar - because he recognized the feeling. It was an ndividual sensitive to these things, interested in these things - that being people like him who didn't go about volenteering information when they didn't have excessive reason to do so.
He was going to have to be careful.
Kete pretended to be surprised when the Eoclu woman approached and spoke her affectionate term for him. "Oh, heya Nirix!" He greeted with a wave, then turned back to the weird guy. "This is my friend Nirix, she's an intersteller superspy." A motion of the hands, splayed fingers so as to imply, clearly in jest, the awe of it.
"And Nirix, this is...ah..." Drat. Had he said his name yet? Kete knew it of course since it was one of the 'RAM' memories - the thoughts that accompanied emotions in the 'front' of the brain, stored there for easy retreival. It was like standing in front of a window in one's home. Kete had no problem looking back in - but if they went off he wouldn't go following.
But he couldn't remember on his life whether he had been told Christofer's name or not. So he went under the assumption that he had not, since it was better to seem forgetful than to seem like a wanted criminal with psychic mind powers. Go figure.
"Ah...We haven't been introduced to each other yet, have we?" He said, becoming more confident that it was in fact how things had gone. Rather suddenly he extended a hand - perhaps too suddenly he thought afterward, considering that the guy was still, it seemed, sketched out of his wits by...whatever.
"Ketin Clarke." He said, "Or Kete, for short." he pronounced it like 'Pete'.
After much time in the labs, Kampfer came back to up to the command center, greeted with General who seems a bit tired and distressed. "Ah zere is nothing vorry about, Omega" Kampfer tried to comfort the general with his words as he looked at the monitor still focused on the satellite. "Well I would feel better if that damn ship stopped firing it's damn field things at it...there's multiple layers on it" the general responded to Kampfer looking at him as he entered the room. "Oh vell zat is not problem" he said as he snapped his talons together.
The orbital laser without assistance starts to break the multiple fields that have encased it and once again became free, leaving those mysterious fields no longer relevant to the satellite. As it breaks the field, it started to move. It moves onto the other side of the planet with rapid pace and be out of danger of the large ship. "See problem solved" Kampfer said with a smile towards the general "I had ze satellite updated after ze shot from station 12 hit it, so now zose fields are completely useless and moving ze satellite to ze other side of ze planet should keep it from danger in ze time being" he explained as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a letter
"Oh yeah I remembered, General, you are being transferred to ze newly constructed tidal wave class ship ze tsunami effective immediately" Kampfer commanded as he gave the letter to the general. Omega seemed please to hear about the orbital laser situation, but seemed puzzled his new transfer. "I don't believe a general can be a captain of a ship, can he?"Omega pondered looking at Kampfer for justification. "Vell no, so zat is why you are now Admiral Omega now...all of your orders is on zat letter by ze vay" Kampfer replied to Omega "What about project replacement atom?"Omega questioned thinking Kampfer still needs to work on it. "Ze project is already in place, now all of our assets are being upgraded vith ze new system as ve speak" Kampfer answering Omega's question. "If zere isn't anymore questions, zen you have ship to command" Kampfer smartly said towards Omega hinting him to leave. "Yes sir" he responded with a salute gesture and then left the command center for his rid in the court yard of the base.
The convoy of troops and supplies soon arrived to the city of kartupelis. It seemed obvious that regional government forgot about this city as it looked old and run down. Its small population was obviously poor in were they lived and the only building that looks decent was city hall. As the large convoy approach city hall, a PA system went online on the armor troop carrier saying "Citizens of Kartupelis, don't be alarmed we are here to give aid to this city with food and other supplies, met at city hall if you wish to have some these supplies" this message repeated as they approached city hall. Many heard the message but very few came out to see if it was real or not. As all the vehicles stopped just a few steps of the city hall building, troops of Z-bots and a few Doc-bots came out. The Doc-bots were bigger and more menacing looking than there smaller brethren. They look like robots being a more square configuration, having tracks instead of legs and one large laser eye. Both hands seemed to be dedicated to combat, having weapon muzzles on them. They speak not with words but with what sounds like dialup noises. As both troops came out, the Z-bots went in the back of the supply trucks and tossed food, clothes, blankets out to the other Z-bots and placed them on multiple tables for the residence could take. Few of citizens came up to grab supplies being fearful of the sudden military presence but not long after more and more people came out to take supplies and whatever they may need. The Z-bots talked to the citizens while the Doc-bots kept there eye out for suspicious activity. The leader of the convey is Commander 285 or more commonly known as Commander Louie, a young and up bot who has a kind heart. The commissioner and the mayor greeted the Z-bot commander. Both looked to up in years with there gray mustaches and the commissioners beard, but looked happy about the arrival of supplies. "My name is Commander Louie and I am here in the behalf of my lord, in sign of friendship present you aid for your citizens" Louie greeted as he went to shake both of the men's hands. The mayor smiled and said "Thank you my good ol boy, we much appreciate it and my name is Mayor Vlad and this commissioner Ramonov" Ramonov shook his head at Louie as he shook his hand. "So may we discuss inside, it's a little chilly outside?" Louie asked so he can explain more why he is here. "Of course, of course" the mayor said as he gestured the commander to follow "We have much to discuss" Ramonov added in as the three of them enter city hall with the others still passing out supplies to the citizens.
Omega soon arrived to where the ship is at. The small bay that was once there had now become a full blown naval base with docks and everything. Right at the mouth of the bay lay the the battleship/aircraft carrier tidal wave class ship the tsunami. This ship on its lower half has 4 large turrets with 2 large caliber guns in it making have a total of 8 large guns. Smaller turrets scatter the entire lower part of the ship as well with a total of 14 turrets, 7 on port and 7 starboard. Towards the forward part of the ship is the flight deck with ascending elevators on it and on its side next to the flight deck is two substitute command center. In the middle between the armament and the flight deck is command center that oversees everything. Now admiral, Omega took a small boat to the incredibly large vessel which was 2,000 feet long and 200 feet tall. He soon came aboard the ship now dressed in white instead of the grey uniform. As he entered the command center of the ship he was greeted by "Admiral on deck!" Omega felt impressed by this seeing that the newly constructed navy has better discipline than the army. Admiral Omega yelled out "Set sail!" the Z-bots responded and started the ship off. Bells and whistles blared as the ship sent sail from the icy bay into the open ocean, for its up and coming mission...
The orbital laser without assistance starts to break the multiple fields that have encased it and once again became free, leaving those mysterious fields no longer relevant to the satellite. As it breaks the field, it started to move. It moves onto the other side of the planet with rapid pace and be out of danger of the large ship. "See problem solved" Kampfer said with a smile towards the general "I had ze satellite updated after ze shot from station 12 hit it, so now zose fields are completely useless and moving ze satellite to ze other side of ze planet should keep it from danger in ze time being" he explained as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a letter
"Oh yeah I remembered, General, you are being transferred to ze newly constructed tidal wave class ship ze tsunami effective immediately" Kampfer commanded as he gave the letter to the general. Omega seemed please to hear about the orbital laser situation, but seemed puzzled his new transfer. "I don't believe a general can be a captain of a ship, can he?"Omega pondered looking at Kampfer for justification. "Vell no, so zat is why you are now Admiral Omega now...all of your orders is on zat letter by ze vay" Kampfer replied to Omega "What about project replacement atom?"Omega questioned thinking Kampfer still needs to work on it. "Ze project is already in place, now all of our assets are being upgraded vith ze new system as ve speak" Kampfer answering Omega's question. "If zere isn't anymore questions, zen you have ship to command" Kampfer smartly said towards Omega hinting him to leave. "Yes sir" he responded with a salute gesture and then left the command center for his rid in the court yard of the base.
The convoy of troops and supplies soon arrived to the city of kartupelis. It seemed obvious that regional government forgot about this city as it looked old and run down. Its small population was obviously poor in were they lived and the only building that looks decent was city hall. As the large convoy approach city hall, a PA system went online on the armor troop carrier saying "Citizens of Kartupelis, don't be alarmed we are here to give aid to this city with food and other supplies, met at city hall if you wish to have some these supplies" this message repeated as they approached city hall. Many heard the message but very few came out to see if it was real or not. As all the vehicles stopped just a few steps of the city hall building, troops of Z-bots and a few Doc-bots came out. The Doc-bots were bigger and more menacing looking than there smaller brethren. They look like robots being a more square configuration, having tracks instead of legs and one large laser eye. Both hands seemed to be dedicated to combat, having weapon muzzles on them. They speak not with words but with what sounds like dialup noises. As both troops came out, the Z-bots went in the back of the supply trucks and tossed food, clothes, blankets out to the other Z-bots and placed them on multiple tables for the residence could take. Few of citizens came up to grab supplies being fearful of the sudden military presence but not long after more and more people came out to take supplies and whatever they may need. The Z-bots talked to the citizens while the Doc-bots kept there eye out for suspicious activity. The leader of the convey is Commander 285 or more commonly known as Commander Louie, a young and up bot who has a kind heart. The commissioner and the mayor greeted the Z-bot commander. Both looked to up in years with there gray mustaches and the commissioners beard, but looked happy about the arrival of supplies. "My name is Commander Louie and I am here in the behalf of my lord, in sign of friendship present you aid for your citizens" Louie greeted as he went to shake both of the men's hands. The mayor smiled and said "Thank you my good ol boy, we much appreciate it and my name is Mayor Vlad and this commissioner Ramonov" Ramonov shook his head at Louie as he shook his hand. "So may we discuss inside, it's a little chilly outside?" Louie asked so he can explain more why he is here. "Of course, of course" the mayor said as he gestured the commander to follow "We have much to discuss" Ramonov added in as the three of them enter city hall with the others still passing out supplies to the citizens.
Omega soon arrived to where the ship is at. The small bay that was once there had now become a full blown naval base with docks and everything. Right at the mouth of the bay lay the the battleship/aircraft carrier tidal wave class ship the tsunami. This ship on its lower half has 4 large turrets with 2 large caliber guns in it making have a total of 8 large guns. Smaller turrets scatter the entire lower part of the ship as well with a total of 14 turrets, 7 on port and 7 starboard. Towards the forward part of the ship is the flight deck with ascending elevators on it and on its side next to the flight deck is two substitute command center. In the middle between the armament and the flight deck is command center that oversees everything. Now admiral, Omega took a small boat to the incredibly large vessel which was 2,000 feet long and 200 feet tall. He soon came aboard the ship now dressed in white instead of the grey uniform. As he entered the command center of the ship he was greeted by "Admiral on deck!" Omega felt impressed by this seeing that the newly constructed navy has better discipline than the army. Admiral Omega yelled out "Set sail!" the Z-bots responded and started the ship off. Bells and whistles blared as the ship sent sail from the icy bay into the open ocean, for its up and coming mission...
Now that the Ranger was, at a certain point, under Petrovalyc's command, he just sat there nodding along as the weird fellow kept talking about how utterly useful the Mad Ranger was for him. In a lack of sarcasm, the Masked Man really wondered if Petrovalyc actually had a job that only him could do. And it went through, many questions suddenly managed to pass right through his helmet, banging on his thick skull...
What was so important about an obsolete haywire android?
Who could be so dangerous that a whole battalion, armed to the teeth, to ignore it?
Who were the cyborg women clad in heavy armor?
Why the possible nuclear disaster was forgiven like that?
... Then the real colors of Stella Viventium appeared, right in front of his eyes. A fully functional 'Colonial Battle Star", as the Ranger knew the such back in the Border Community. He had seen everything from his 'jobs', including warmongering generals putting millions of lives in the hands of fate, but not something like this. Stella Viventium could pretty much house hundreds, if not, thousands of battle fleets. Then why would the heck anyone would risk so much economic and military power?
"It's the orbital 'lazor' bull<beep> again?" - Then he finally snapped out of it. - "Y'now, I'm not accepting any services at the moment. Personal issues beyond my current economic-logistic recession, but I can deal with whatever is bothering you ATM, assuming you are willing to let loose a symbolic amount of your credits."
A vagabond clad in worn out apparel and an obsolete looking gun offering his dubious services. He probably was just planning to frame Petrovalyc thinking he could easily get away from his grasp.
... The was not the case of the Mad Ranger.
[ Sorry for the delay. Writer's block, family to the point of kicking me out and stuff like that. You can notice the clear lack of coherency in this post because of those things. ]
What was so important about an obsolete haywire android?
Who could be so dangerous that a whole battalion, armed to the teeth, to ignore it?
Who were the cyborg women clad in heavy armor?
Why the possible nuclear disaster was forgiven like that?
... Then the real colors of Stella Viventium appeared, right in front of his eyes. A fully functional 'Colonial Battle Star", as the Ranger knew the such back in the Border Community. He had seen everything from his 'jobs', including warmongering generals putting millions of lives in the hands of fate, but not something like this. Stella Viventium could pretty much house hundreds, if not, thousands of battle fleets. Then why would the heck anyone would risk so much economic and military power?
"It's the orbital 'lazor' bull<beep> again?" - Then he finally snapped out of it. - "Y'now, I'm not accepting any services at the moment. Personal issues beyond my current economic-logistic recession, but I can deal with whatever is bothering you ATM, assuming you are willing to let loose a symbolic amount of your credits."
A vagabond clad in worn out apparel and an obsolete looking gun offering his dubious services. He probably was just planning to frame Petrovalyc thinking he could easily get away from his grasp.
... The was not the case of the Mad Ranger.
[ Sorry for the delay. Writer's block, family to the point of kicking me out and stuff like that. You can notice the clear lack of coherency in this post because of those things. ]
(sorry to hear that ranger, I hope things get better for you dude)
Bravo sat still for the longest time until having realized he was being hunted, well not so much hunted but more like searched for. Disconnecting his beacon the antenna fell from his metallic body and hit the ground with a light thud on the ground of the snow covered terrain. A small secondary unit appeared out of his left forearm, used primarily for communication, Bravo's signal scattered across the entire communication network by accident and quickly realizing this he set his communication to singular connection and started connecting and disconnecting from various networks searching for specific users until eventually finding the Stella Viventium network he was blocked out and his signal kept trying to process itself through the Stella's network as an unidentified source in search of the user in which he was looking for himself. "I have no purpose for this user, but I must know why I am being hunted"
Bravo sat still for the longest time until having realized he was being hunted, well not so much hunted but more like searched for. Disconnecting his beacon the antenna fell from his metallic body and hit the ground with a light thud on the ground of the snow covered terrain. A small secondary unit appeared out of his left forearm, used primarily for communication, Bravo's signal scattered across the entire communication network by accident and quickly realizing this he set his communication to singular connection and started connecting and disconnecting from various networks searching for specific users until eventually finding the Stella Viventium network he was blocked out and his signal kept trying to process itself through the Stella's network as an unidentified source in search of the user in which he was looking for himself. "I have no purpose for this user, but I must know why I am being hunted"
Mr. Petrovalyc seemed distracted - with good reason, given the current situation of an unknown agitator - but he halted to reply to the Ranger before leaving with haste. "I'm sure we can get you whatever sum feel adequate. We can't print Standard but we can scrape it together...But you're not going to be much use with faulty equipment and an empty gun - so wait for Drakis to come get you, he'll take you to the armory and between him and Harkahn they'll get any gear you've got fixed up. While you do that I'll figure out who this infinitely irritating asshat is, then you'll be brought to the bridge where we can decide on our next move once we have all the information."
And with that he and his counterpart were gone, and the Ranger was alone.
But only for a short moment. Double doors at the other end of the outcropping burst open and a portly man with a generous gut and some labor-hardened muscles appeared. Bald as a Que-ball with a tuft of scratchy looking beard, work goggles about his head.
"Soooo! The Mad Ranger huh? In the flesh!" He was boisterous to be sure - his voice was a little grating, but it could have been worse. "This would settle a whole lot of bets with a whole lot of folk over the years." He stuck out a ridged hand for a shake. Whether or not it was reciprocated he would continue, though with with a brief moment of discomfort if it wasn't. "Drakis Volo, chief mechanic and roboticist. Commodore says you need some munitions and some fixin' up ah?" Turning he waved a hand widely in a gesture to suggest following, going back through the doors from which he had entered.
It was a staircase that led to a miniature subway station with a single, snazzy looking rail-car balanced nicely upon the rail which extended in both directions for a ways, then sloped out of sight. Drakis boarded the thing, waited for the Ranger and hit a button - they were off like a bullet
"So how'd'ya like the city, pretty incredible huh? Couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw the place." And Drakis Volo would proceed to absolutely talk the Ranger's ears off, as well as ask from an infinite pool of questions. This would last for the entire ten mintue ride until the vehicle slid smoothly and pleasantly to a halt, the door opening and two passengers stepping out into an identical 'station'.
Of course, it didn't end there. He would continue to talk the Ranger's ears off as they walked up the stairs, down some halls and eventually to the armory.
Suddenly the pair was faced with a figure who appeared to be more albino rattlesnake than human. Thin wisps of mustache on his lips, a face that looked as though it were simply impossible for him to smile and not look like a pedophile. He should have had a forked tongue.
Drakis piped loudly up again. "Gaelan Yascra - he's in charge of the armory. He'll get 'ya set up with whatever ya' need."
Gaelan smiled - it looked as though it pained him and did nothing to abet his woeful countenance. Even his voice was snake-like. "Yes. It'd be best if you waited out here though. Quicker that way." A meaningful look in his eye, but Drakis seemed to miss it completely. "Sure thing!"
Gaelan nodded toward the heavy metal door from which he had just come, stepped through, shut it behind him. "I hope you didn't have to endure a whole railcar ride with him." He said with a raise of a brow as they entered into one of the largest and most well stocked collections of weapons and ammunition ever to be formed. "Anyway, the Captain says you're free to take whatever you need free access to the whole stock. Limited I suppose to what you can carry..."
"Alright I want everything we know about this guy." Aelyn said frankly as soon as he came through the doors to the bridge. "Isha, you first."
A small, dark skinned girl removed a pair of comms headphones from her tuft of thick, black hair and allowed them to hang around her neck. She spoke but did not stop working on...whatever all those buttons and screens were.
"The shot was traced back to the Moon, looks like a small militant base of some kind has been set up there fairly recently. The subetheric frequency was set to change very rapidly which might explain how it managed to get through the isofields. Harkahn is working on a program to shift isofield frequencies faster -" She didn't need to explain the rest. The idea was simple - the isofield used a certain dimensional 'code' to exist. If the code was matched, the field was destroyed. If Kampfer's projectile had been designed to rapidly change codes to insure a fit, all they would have to do is make the field shift faster than the projectile could. Easier said than done, of course.
"I've been trying to trace the comms from that moonbase back to a source planetside - looks like transmissions between there and a northern continent called 'Siberia'. We're trying to crack into their band but no luck yet since it's a game of cha-"
Isha was cut off when something appeared on one of the screens that pleased her.
"Ah, alright, never mind - looks like we're in. I can get us video transmission..." She mused, busy fiddling with things, eventually hitting the 'enter' key and bringing to life a larger monitor on which the other party would appear - assuming they chose to answer the call.
"We're hailing them now. All he has to do is pick up the phone." She grinned. "And you'll have your agitator." then, as an afterthought - "Use your BrainPal to send a hailing transmission yourself. Give it that personal flair you do so well."
And Aelyn did so. Somewhere at Kampfer's base or general vicinity or person it would have to come to his attention sooner or later that someone was trying to contact him through an otherwise secure communication channel. A short message had been recorded - it was a flat, dead voice belonging to a male of perhaps twenty five. He did not sound pleased.
"This is Administrator A.P. Petrovalyc attempting to hail whatever party is responsible for the recent attempts on my life as well as the wellbeing of my people. I am requesting visual comms via this cracked channel. Please respond as soon as possible. Message repeats."
If and/or when Kampfer decided to take up that offer, Aelyn would be waiting on the other side of that screen, staring with cold, black eyes that mimicked the universe in all its' emptiness and the stars in all their brightness.
And with that he and his counterpart were gone, and the Ranger was alone.
But only for a short moment. Double doors at the other end of the outcropping burst open and a portly man with a generous gut and some labor-hardened muscles appeared. Bald as a Que-ball with a tuft of scratchy looking beard, work goggles about his head.
"Soooo! The Mad Ranger huh? In the flesh!" He was boisterous to be sure - his voice was a little grating, but it could have been worse. "This would settle a whole lot of bets with a whole lot of folk over the years." He stuck out a ridged hand for a shake. Whether or not it was reciprocated he would continue, though with with a brief moment of discomfort if it wasn't. "Drakis Volo, chief mechanic and roboticist. Commodore says you need some munitions and some fixin' up ah?" Turning he waved a hand widely in a gesture to suggest following, going back through the doors from which he had entered.It was a staircase that led to a miniature subway station with a single, snazzy looking rail-car balanced nicely upon the rail which extended in both directions for a ways, then sloped out of sight. Drakis boarded the thing, waited for the Ranger and hit a button - they were off like a bullet
"So how'd'ya like the city, pretty incredible huh? Couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw the place." And Drakis Volo would proceed to absolutely talk the Ranger's ears off, as well as ask from an infinite pool of questions. This would last for the entire ten mintue ride until the vehicle slid smoothly and pleasantly to a halt, the door opening and two passengers stepping out into an identical 'station'.
Of course, it didn't end there. He would continue to talk the Ranger's ears off as they walked up the stairs, down some halls and eventually to the armory.
Suddenly the pair was faced with a figure who appeared to be more albino rattlesnake than human. Thin wisps of mustache on his lips, a face that looked as though it were simply impossible for him to smile and not look like a pedophile. He should have had a forked tongue.Drakis piped loudly up again. "Gaelan Yascra - he's in charge of the armory. He'll get 'ya set up with whatever ya' need."
Gaelan smiled - it looked as though it pained him and did nothing to abet his woeful countenance. Even his voice was snake-like. "Yes. It'd be best if you waited out here though. Quicker that way." A meaningful look in his eye, but Drakis seemed to miss it completely. "Sure thing!"
Gaelan nodded toward the heavy metal door from which he had just come, stepped through, shut it behind him. "I hope you didn't have to endure a whole railcar ride with him." He said with a raise of a brow as they entered into one of the largest and most well stocked collections of weapons and ammunition ever to be formed. "Anyway, the Captain says you're free to take whatever you need free access to the whole stock. Limited I suppose to what you can carry..."
"Alright I want everything we know about this guy." Aelyn said frankly as soon as he came through the doors to the bridge. "Isha, you first."
A small, dark skinned girl removed a pair of comms headphones from her tuft of thick, black hair and allowed them to hang around her neck. She spoke but did not stop working on...whatever all those buttons and screens were."The shot was traced back to the Moon, looks like a small militant base of some kind has been set up there fairly recently. The subetheric frequency was set to change very rapidly which might explain how it managed to get through the isofields. Harkahn is working on a program to shift isofield frequencies faster -" She didn't need to explain the rest. The idea was simple - the isofield used a certain dimensional 'code' to exist. If the code was matched, the field was destroyed. If Kampfer's projectile had been designed to rapidly change codes to insure a fit, all they would have to do is make the field shift faster than the projectile could. Easier said than done, of course.
"I've been trying to trace the comms from that moonbase back to a source planetside - looks like transmissions between there and a northern continent called 'Siberia'. We're trying to crack into their band but no luck yet since it's a game of cha-"
Isha was cut off when something appeared on one of the screens that pleased her.
"Ah, alright, never mind - looks like we're in. I can get us video transmission..." She mused, busy fiddling with things, eventually hitting the 'enter' key and bringing to life a larger monitor on which the other party would appear - assuming they chose to answer the call.
"We're hailing them now. All he has to do is pick up the phone." She grinned. "And you'll have your agitator." then, as an afterthought - "Use your BrainPal to send a hailing transmission yourself. Give it that personal flair you do so well."
And Aelyn did so. Somewhere at Kampfer's base or general vicinity or person it would have to come to his attention sooner or later that someone was trying to contact him through an otherwise secure communication channel. A short message had been recorded - it was a flat, dead voice belonging to a male of perhaps twenty five. He did not sound pleased.
"This is Administrator A.P. Petrovalyc attempting to hail whatever party is responsible for the recent attempts on my life as well as the wellbeing of my people. I am requesting visual comms via this cracked channel. Please respond as soon as possible. Message repeats."
If and/or when Kampfer decided to take up that offer, Aelyn would be waiting on the other side of that screen, staring with cold, black eyes that mimicked the universe in all its' emptiness and the stars in all their brightness.
The droid was what could be assumed was a form of happy to him when he was hailed but it was unfortunate when he could only respond with a written message seeing as how old his systems were it came with little surprise, his message read "Hunter, whom ever you are, I have detected your response on my beacon and disconnected it from all networks and deactivated it." and it promptly ended with a voice recording back shortly with the same old song the machine would sing now and again in the dark, slow tune "There are no strings on me" alongside with an extra message with coordinates to his location. afterwards he set his communicator to rest letting his signal disappear from the Stellas network and fell against a rock letting himself become partially covered in snow and having all his systems run on sleep mode, a small red light pulsating with life next to his visual scanner indicated this as he slept
"Sir, good news all bases on this planet are fully operational and in our disposal" the Z-bot operator reported to Kampfer. "Excellent, now lets-" Kampfer said as he was cut off by a mysterious stranger with a brown duster hat and a large brow cloak flip-cock a lever action shotgun to the back of his head. "So, I finally found you, one of the most wanted being alive, for crimes against the living and numerous kidnapping for your experiments" the mysterious person, with a slightly damaged voice box, said. Kampfer stood completely still and let the stranger talk. "Doctor Professor Kampfer, the head of the hidden empire that stretches all across the galaxy, has some strange reason has graced us in his presence to take an interest in this planet...so Kampfer why are you here and not at your usual place" the stranger finished off as she poke Kampfer's head with the muzzle of the gun. Kampfer smiled and said "Hmmmmmm I vonder vho zis can be...zere is only one person vho can bypass all of my defenses and guards. Plus zis certain individual, uses very western still weapons" Kampfer turned around to the stranger and continued "So I deduce zy to be my only daughter, Maria Lockheart, aka Lock-on".
Maria put away her shotgun back into her pop-out storage compartment on her leg and said "It's been awhile father" Kampfer looked at her with a smile and said "Likewise, Maria, so vhat brings you here" Maria lifted her head a bit to expose her face,showing her shark like teeth and her permanent smile and said "I came for work...bounty hunting has been slow lately" Kampfer looked at Maria and said "I have a job for you...you are going to be ze head of a starport zat orbits zis planet, don't vorry you vill have support on zis mission" Maria thought about this job her father requested and shook her head in agreement "I do it" she said as she shook her father's hand
"Sir,we are being hailed by...Stella Viventium, by it's administrator" the operator said with a worrying look on his face. "Vell, its seems zey know vhere ve are" Kampfer said looking at his operator with reassurance. "Let's bring zem up on ze live feed zen" Kampfer ordered. "I'll be taken my leave then" Maria said to her father as she left the command center for the mission.
The monitor in the command cneter now shows the two being looking each other, one from the very large spacecraft and the other on a planetside base. Kampfer introduced himself "Greetings, Aelyn, it has been awhile since I have seen your civilization many centuries ago, if you don't remember my name, my name is Doctor Professor Kampfer, Dimensional Lord of the Technology dimension. I am impressed by your technology of your inter-dimensional fields, unlucky for you zat i am ze only one in ze universe, vho can counter your technology. I am here responding to your hail but to give you a warning. Hand over and dismantle your tech, because it's a direct violation of laws of time and space. If you do not comply zen you put your population and zis planet's population at risk of a alien parasite that is attracted to zat kind of forbidden technology". Kampfer looked at Aelyn with a serious look on his face and waited for his response.
Maria put away her shotgun back into her pop-out storage compartment on her leg and said "It's been awhile father" Kampfer looked at her with a smile and said "Likewise, Maria, so vhat brings you here" Maria lifted her head a bit to expose her face,showing her shark like teeth and her permanent smile and said "I came for work...bounty hunting has been slow lately" Kampfer looked at Maria and said "I have a job for you...you are going to be ze head of a starport zat orbits zis planet, don't vorry you vill have support on zis mission" Maria thought about this job her father requested and shook her head in agreement "I do it" she said as she shook her father's hand
"Sir,we are being hailed by...Stella Viventium, by it's administrator" the operator said with a worrying look on his face. "Vell, its seems zey know vhere ve are" Kampfer said looking at his operator with reassurance. "Let's bring zem up on ze live feed zen" Kampfer ordered. "I'll be taken my leave then" Maria said to her father as she left the command center for the mission.
The monitor in the command cneter now shows the two being looking each other, one from the very large spacecraft and the other on a planetside base. Kampfer introduced himself "Greetings, Aelyn, it has been awhile since I have seen your civilization many centuries ago, if you don't remember my name, my name is Doctor Professor Kampfer, Dimensional Lord of the Technology dimension. I am impressed by your technology of your inter-dimensional fields, unlucky for you zat i am ze only one in ze universe, vho can counter your technology. I am here responding to your hail but to give you a warning. Hand over and dismantle your tech, because it's a direct violation of laws of time and space. If you do not comply zen you put your population and zis planet's population at risk of a alien parasite that is attracted to zat kind of forbidden technology". Kampfer looked at Aelyn with a serious look on his face and waited for his response.
Her mouth open, Nirix had half the mind to correct Ketin on his mistake with her general occupation. She was a spy no longer, that job had long ago concluded for about fifty years and been replaced with the path that the stealthy Eoclu now walked. Only the life that she lived, could've derived from such a happy and stable life to this one of constant death.
Nirix almost laughed at the thought.
It would be best to let him believe what he thought she was; it wasn't necessarily a lie. Nirix had served her time has a spy for her homeworld's government and now those days were behind her. She would let whatever come her way and endure...
"That maybe true, Da'len, but you would do well to not announce my employment out loud" She reminded him, not showing any indication of the false information he was giving. Briefly she turned her eyes upon the boy that Ketin had been conversing to, taking in every little detail of his appearance before she actually spoke to him. His eyes, face, the sound of his voice, his posture. Was he afraid of her? Or just confused by her sudden appearance? The Eoclu assassin could not necessarily tell....
"I'm Nirix T'relis, it's a pleasure to meet you" The Eoclu introduced herself, offering a small bow. Once again it seemed that this habit would be hard to kill. Nirix made a mental note to read on the different ways to greet others outside of her culture. Hopefully it would emlinate some of the strange looks that some of her employers gave her after their intentional meetings.
Nirix almost laughed at the thought.
It would be best to let him believe what he thought she was; it wasn't necessarily a lie. Nirix had served her time has a spy for her homeworld's government and now those days were behind her. She would let whatever come her way and endure...
"That maybe true, Da'len, but you would do well to not announce my employment out loud" She reminded him, not showing any indication of the false information he was giving. Briefly she turned her eyes upon the boy that Ketin had been conversing to, taking in every little detail of his appearance before she actually spoke to him. His eyes, face, the sound of his voice, his posture. Was he afraid of her? Or just confused by her sudden appearance? The Eoclu assassin could not necessarily tell....
"I'm Nirix T'relis, it's a pleasure to meet you" The Eoclu introduced herself, offering a small bow. Once again it seemed that this habit would be hard to kill. Nirix made a mental note to read on the different ways to greet others outside of her culture. Hopefully it would emlinate some of the strange looks that some of her employers gave her after their intentional meetings.
A small cruiser approached the starport high above the planet to dock at one its docking bays. The captain of the cruiser told starport authorities that he's transporting nonliving cargo, but in actuality he was delivering a small contingent of Doc-bots and few Z-bots lead by the daughter of Doctor Professor Kampfer: Maria Lockheart. Maria and her troops waited by the air lock until the cruiser dock so they can rush into star port.
Soon the cruiser docked and the air lock opened. Maria with her revolver out first ran out and met the hustle and bustle of the star port. No one paid any mind to the gun wielding cowboy looking bounty hunter, but heads started to turn when a mess of the large, black and bulky Doc-bots started to scuddle in on there tracks lined up against the wall by the airlock guns cocked and loaded. Maria with her permanent smile grew even wider and said "this starport is now under my control" as she pointed her revolver into the crowd in front of her as did the doc-bots with there dual machine guns. So the occupation of the Earth has begun.
Soon the cruiser docked and the air lock opened. Maria with her revolver out first ran out and met the hustle and bustle of the star port. No one paid any mind to the gun wielding cowboy looking bounty hunter, but heads started to turn when a mess of the large, black and bulky Doc-bots started to scuddle in on there tracks lined up against the wall by the airlock guns cocked and loaded. Maria with her permanent smile grew even wider and said "this starport is now under my control" as she pointed her revolver into the crowd in front of her as did the doc-bots with there dual machine guns. So the occupation of the Earth has begun.
The German didn't really pay too much attention to Ketin listing out the possibilities for the 'trip' to be a failure. Oh well, if they would get lost, it really ment nothing to him - unless they'd get in a fight with the local 'bench god mafia' or something. It was still a strange place and he had nothing to defend himself with, other than his legs and feet that somehow felt a bit jamming: like they wouldn't have been used in a long while
Christofer jumped back at the sudden hand movement to his direction. Must have been some sort of reflex. With this new 'Ketin' person, he had somehow been at least sightly prepared for it - the other boy seemed to be full of energy anyway, so such 'bursts' were to be expected. So in the end, he wouldn't run
He was now surely aware of this individual's name though. Had he heard it somewhere before? Or read it from somewhere? A celebrity? Bah, not with those silly ears and such alike. He shouldn't judge though, this place was weird to begin with.
Toffi couldn't remember if they had introdouced themselves to the other yet either. He had been constantly distracted and starteled by different things; the strange appearences and now the new strange person. The boy was unsure wether he should even tell out his name when the new stranger was there
He didn't pay too much attention to the bow. To be honest, a few percents of him were predicting a leap instead of a bow so he was positively surpriced - or he would have been if he was more involved in the moment and not shrouded half lost in his own mind
"Uhh... Hi...?" the boy would start, his words somewhat stuck in his mouth. He could feel the others looking at him, somewhat pressuring him. "... Just... Call me Christofer... Markov... Or something..." It wasn't really all that proper; the boy spoke rather quietly anyway so it would be good if anyone even understood what he was saying. He did 'introdouce' himself though. The others had done it so it was only polite for him to do the same.
"... Or Toffi... If that's too long..."
Well, he had done what he could. At least they weren't going to eat him for staying quiet. For now...
Christofer jumped back at the sudden hand movement to his direction. Must have been some sort of reflex. With this new 'Ketin' person, he had somehow been at least sightly prepared for it - the other boy seemed to be full of energy anyway, so such 'bursts' were to be expected. So in the end, he wouldn't run
He was now surely aware of this individual's name though. Had he heard it somewhere before? Or read it from somewhere? A celebrity? Bah, not with those silly ears and such alike. He shouldn't judge though, this place was weird to begin with.
Toffi couldn't remember if they had introdouced themselves to the other yet either. He had been constantly distracted and starteled by different things; the strange appearences and now the new strange person. The boy was unsure wether he should even tell out his name when the new stranger was there
He didn't pay too much attention to the bow. To be honest, a few percents of him were predicting a leap instead of a bow so he was positively surpriced - or he would have been if he was more involved in the moment and not shrouded half lost in his own mind
"Uhh... Hi...?" the boy would start, his words somewhat stuck in his mouth. He could feel the others looking at him, somewhat pressuring him. "... Just... Call me Christofer... Markov... Or something..." It wasn't really all that proper; the boy spoke rather quietly anyway so it would be good if anyone even understood what he was saying. He did 'introdouce' himself though. The others had done it so it was only polite for him to do the same.
"... Or Toffi... If that's too long..."
Well, he had done what he could. At least they weren't going to eat him for staying quiet. For now...
Aelyn stood with hands in pockets, waiting politely for the white haired man to introduce himself and set his terms. As he did so, the black-eyed man would raise a brow curiously - gradually a wide, bemused grin would come over his face.
Then he would laugh - actually, genuinely laugh - and though it was not a particularly 'evil' laugh in itself, the simple fact of it coming from the otherwise emotionally dead man was disturbing in its' own way. It would be especially effective given the seriousness of the Lord's expression..
"Hand over and dismantle my forbidden technology?" He repeated Kampfer's words, mostly regaining his breath by this point. "You've got to be joking. If you think I'm going to just hand over a city-sized machine to you because you claim it's forbidden..."
He took another moment, finally regaining his composure. He returned to his normal self.
"I'm afraid you must have me confused with someone else, Mr. Kampfer." He said politely, promptly. "Because I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about - and believe me when I say that I am not one to feign ignorance - as a fellow man of science I'm sure you understand that." He paused while trying to decide how he would word his continuation, then gave something of a huff, giving in to the fact that just listing these things off in order was usually the best tactic.
"I don't ever recall agreeing to follow any 'laws of time and space', and the if civilization you're referring to is the people of Sol then you've got a gross misinterpretation of what sort of technology we had...I did work largely off Ohran theories and sciences so you might be thinking of them. They're long gone..." Again he paused. "As far as parasites that are attracted to my technology...Do me a favor, Mr. Kampfer. Do a chronographic scan on my and my ship, tell me what you find."
This was an unusual request - even a man like Kampfer would have very little reason to ever use a chronograph scanner. Surely he had one of that there was no doubt, especially since it was relatively basic technology. But it was one of those things that nobody ever bothered to use anymore since the standardization of space-time however many millions of years ago. But he wanted to be chronographed.
Kampfer would find that, quite impossibly, the matter which composed the Stella Viventium would register as having existed in its' current formation for just over ten thousand Standard years.
Aelyn himself would register - to a drastically more impossible logic - as an 'error'. The equivalent of typing 99999999 into a calculator and trying to add 1. It was not that he was out of or detached from time, but there must have been something faulty in the tech for his mass to register as being so impossibly ancient.
The main curiosity here was that while Dimensional Lords were quite immortal, they achieved this through a space-time disconnect. They as entities kept stationary and time moved around them - as though time were a river, air was space and they could walk on water.
This Aelyn character did not register as having any kind of space-time disconnection. He registered as being older than any currently existing mass could be within the limitation of physics. All mass decayed and increased in entropy over time - this was a scientific law. Yet this strange man who claimed to be a human from the mythical Sol System defied the law and existed through mass that had never increased in entropy. The same would apply to his wife Alexa - who was not currently on-screen but could be scanned just as well given the highly accurate nature of Kampfer's tech.
"Interesting, isn't it?" Aelyn would say, after Kampfer had deduced this impossible fact.
"My point is that if there were a parasite attracted to me or my vessel I would have seen them by now. I don't know much about your laws of 'time and space' but I'm assuming it does not apply to sciences and technologys that operate within the boundaries of dimensional space-time, is that correct?" He did not wait for an answer. "All else aside Mr. Kampfer the message I'm trying to get across here is that I mean you no harm and I don't intend to interrupt you or your operations here or anywhere else in the Galaxy unless those operations threaten to interfere with me or my people. Blow this entire planet to smithereens if you feel you must but do not @#$% with my ship. Is that understood?"
There was a startlingly sinister tone in the final words there - likely that would have little effect on Kampfer himself, but just about everyone else in either control room would get a shudder down their spine at the tone - the tone which so potently combined with the terrible, soulless black eyes for maximum intimidating effect. The crew on the Stella Viventium's bridge knew exceptionally well what their impossible captain was capable of. They, at least, would be quite convinced of Kampfer's powerlessness against him as an immovable force - even though in reality they were quite evenly matched.
Shortly before Aelyn-Paeryc launched his transmission to Kampfer, Dorin Harkahn - The Stella's head of sciences and technologies - had been re-routed a transmission from Isha Lastrow on the bridge for closer examination and follow-up. What he found was this:
"I have no purpose for this user, but I must know why I am being hunted"
And it both perplexed and fascinated him. Moving with haste and a sort of proficient grace that he lacked in movement but made up for with computers, Dorin began to work on figuring out what it was - for he'd a hunch that it might be that android that the Captain had been looking for. So far Dorin himself had been largely uninvolved in the ordeal, but that wasn't going to stop him now.
It didn't take him too terribly long to get it all straight and determine that yes, it matched up to what the Captain had been searching for. Before he could respond however, another message was sent along the same line. "Hunter, whom ever you are, I have detected your response on my beacon and disconnected it from all networks and deactivated it."
And then it was gone. Dorin gaped. He furiously worked through screens and signals and frequencies doing all sorts of science-things before becoming too exasperated, then doing what the IT department was best at: giving up.
Mostly, anyway. He hailed back to Isha - though poor timing it was since it was right in the middle of the tense communications between Aelyn and the mysterious Kampfer. Isha had to hastily squelch the call, then hunched over to whisper at him through her microphone so as to not disturb the meeting. Luckily it went unnoticed.
"What. She hissed in a hoarse whisper, "I'm busy."
"I just wanted to talk to you about that thing you sent me. It was a transmission from the bot that the Captain was looking for. I think I've got a good bead on it's location."
"Well what do you want me t'do about it?"
Dorin stammered. He hadn't thought about that part. "Uh, oh, well, uh..."
"Go down with Aleessa and pick it up then."
"Wha-?! Bu-"
"Shh! Just do it."
Isha ended the transmission and returned to pretending that she wasn't listening to Aelyna nd Kampfer, like everyone else.
Dorin sighed. It wasn't that he didn't like Aleessa. They just didn't have very compatable personalities. Maybe this would make for a good bonding experience, he mused - he had never been sent on any kind of mission paired with her before. He hailed her and began explaining the situation...
"Oh right-" Kete said with a kiddish chuckle, "I guess telling everyone you're an interstellar super-spy sort of defeats the purpose of being one huh?" But did he really think that she was an interstellar super-spy? Or was that a joke? It was impossible to tell with this weird since almost everything he said sounded and could be interpreted as a joke.
Then he turned his attention back to Christofer and ended up holding his hand out for a few seconds before awkwardly retracting it again. "Christofor, or Markov, or Toffi." Kete repeated, apparently not fully understanding the picture. "Those are all good names." He smiled, again looked back to the woman. She was following him. Ketin did not like that. Ketin liked following others, not being followed. Hypocritical? Very. But he knew he was harmless - directly, at least - others he could hardly know what their intentions were.
This was ironic given that his most powerful ability was knowing what other people's intentions were, but it was only in the short term - in terms or movement or things that they were about to do or say. If the long term goal was to capture him and send him back to the Empire? He had to rely on instinct and observation and distrust to determine that.
He was about to say something to her - probably something stupid, since the boy really didn't seem to have it all together - when he froze stiffly. the Eoclu had seen more of him than that for sure, she might have had some idea that there was more to him than just an idiot kid with a fake eye - but that wasn't going to stop him from being an idiot, whether it was true, untrue, or half true.
But he was frozen now. He had gone pale - white as a ghost - and suddenly looked as though he were gazing in shock and horror at a gigantic bug which had landed on the woman's head. This was an applicable comparison not because there was a gigantic bug on her head - the rather large, dime-sized beetle which flew by completely unnoticed and continued it's own adventure for many years to come is a tale for a different day - but because he seemed to be looking through her rather than at her.
Ketin had seen something he didn't like. The electromagnetic disturbance was waning it seemed, this was returning to him much of the clarity he had been so short of since landing on this planet. It was a damned good thing too, since he had just seen something the - as aforementioned - did not like.
He saw Kallenger.
Worse still?
She had seen HIM.
His ears went flat - this would be the first real, clear indication to Christofer that there might have been more to them than simple cosplay accessories since the movement was so distinct - and he took a moment to close his mouth and stop looking like he was about to say something. He had to think fast - on the surface it looked like he had just suddenly strung out, gone foggy for no apparent reason - though again, the Eoclu might have seen something else given her exceptional deductive and observational skills.
There were Kallenger's eyes, and there he was in Kallenger's eyes. She was in the jungle not too far from where Kete and his two new friends were. She was standing dead still and dead silent as twenty soldiers well trained in the art of fighting him and him alone got themselves into position. All were unseen and might as well have not existed at all for the moment - but they were there. He groped desperately for Kallenger's intentions but she had been trained specifically to resist that sort of mental broadcasting. She - and to a slightly lesser extent her soldiers - had a mind that was almost completely impenetrable to everything except sight. She was a machine specifically designed to be the end of him. She was terrifying. It had been a long time.
After a moment of absolutely spacing out, Kete came to life suddenly - and not in a manner of which one would have had even the slightest notion to expect. With no warning, no build up and certainly no context the half-breed hooked his foot around the Eoclu's ankle in a very, very unexpected surprise attack, giving a pull and - if it worked - sending her falling instantly. He did it so fast that unless someone had been assuming he would do it, it would take a moment to realize that it had been him at all. He didn't stop there either - in the same motion of tripping Nirix he swung out and with a white-knuckled fist socked Christofer square in the temple - or somewhere near there if he had been given cause to miss.
With both of them down or at least stunned for the moment, Kete would have - if nothing else - the chance to flee, springing away as fast as his legs could take him. He went bounding back down the path, leaped over a bench and kept going.
At the same time Kallenger would issue a pursuit. She came bursting from the trees some fifty feet away along with two of her heavily armed, black-armored soldiers. "Target northbound toward east park gate. Block all exits and get into covering positions!" She barked, though neither of the men with her responded - this might have meant she was talking to some other unseen soldier?
There was one more at least, he came strafing out of the jungle with his weapon already trained on Nirix and Toffi - he kept it leveled at them as he strafed by, then dissented and took off sprinting over the hill. The other soldiers moved around them, though they were hidden in various fashions and did not have any interest in either of Kete's 'friends'.
They couldn't be accomplices after all. Not after attacking them like that.
Then he would laugh - actually, genuinely laugh - and though it was not a particularly 'evil' laugh in itself, the simple fact of it coming from the otherwise emotionally dead man was disturbing in its' own way. It would be especially effective given the seriousness of the Lord's expression..
"Hand over and dismantle my forbidden technology?" He repeated Kampfer's words, mostly regaining his breath by this point. "You've got to be joking. If you think I'm going to just hand over a city-sized machine to you because you claim it's forbidden..."
He took another moment, finally regaining his composure. He returned to his normal self.
"I'm afraid you must have me confused with someone else, Mr. Kampfer." He said politely, promptly. "Because I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about - and believe me when I say that I am not one to feign ignorance - as a fellow man of science I'm sure you understand that." He paused while trying to decide how he would word his continuation, then gave something of a huff, giving in to the fact that just listing these things off in order was usually the best tactic.
"I don't ever recall agreeing to follow any 'laws of time and space', and the if civilization you're referring to is the people of Sol then you've got a gross misinterpretation of what sort of technology we had...I did work largely off Ohran theories and sciences so you might be thinking of them. They're long gone..." Again he paused. "As far as parasites that are attracted to my technology...Do me a favor, Mr. Kampfer. Do a chronographic scan on my and my ship, tell me what you find."
This was an unusual request - even a man like Kampfer would have very little reason to ever use a chronograph scanner. Surely he had one of that there was no doubt, especially since it was relatively basic technology. But it was one of those things that nobody ever bothered to use anymore since the standardization of space-time however many millions of years ago. But he wanted to be chronographed.
Kampfer would find that, quite impossibly, the matter which composed the Stella Viventium would register as having existed in its' current formation for just over ten thousand Standard years.
Aelyn himself would register - to a drastically more impossible logic - as an 'error'. The equivalent of typing 99999999 into a calculator and trying to add 1. It was not that he was out of or detached from time, but there must have been something faulty in the tech for his mass to register as being so impossibly ancient.
The main curiosity here was that while Dimensional Lords were quite immortal, they achieved this through a space-time disconnect. They as entities kept stationary and time moved around them - as though time were a river, air was space and they could walk on water.
This Aelyn character did not register as having any kind of space-time disconnection. He registered as being older than any currently existing mass could be within the limitation of physics. All mass decayed and increased in entropy over time - this was a scientific law. Yet this strange man who claimed to be a human from the mythical Sol System defied the law and existed through mass that had never increased in entropy. The same would apply to his wife Alexa - who was not currently on-screen but could be scanned just as well given the highly accurate nature of Kampfer's tech.
"Interesting, isn't it?" Aelyn would say, after Kampfer had deduced this impossible fact.
"My point is that if there were a parasite attracted to me or my vessel I would have seen them by now. I don't know much about your laws of 'time and space' but I'm assuming it does not apply to sciences and technologys that operate within the boundaries of dimensional space-time, is that correct?" He did not wait for an answer. "All else aside Mr. Kampfer the message I'm trying to get across here is that I mean you no harm and I don't intend to interrupt you or your operations here or anywhere else in the Galaxy unless those operations threaten to interfere with me or my people. Blow this entire planet to smithereens if you feel you must but do not @#$% with my ship. Is that understood?"
There was a startlingly sinister tone in the final words there - likely that would have little effect on Kampfer himself, but just about everyone else in either control room would get a shudder down their spine at the tone - the tone which so potently combined with the terrible, soulless black eyes for maximum intimidating effect. The crew on the Stella Viventium's bridge knew exceptionally well what their impossible captain was capable of. They, at least, would be quite convinced of Kampfer's powerlessness against him as an immovable force - even though in reality they were quite evenly matched.
Shortly before Aelyn-Paeryc launched his transmission to Kampfer, Dorin Harkahn - The Stella's head of sciences and technologies - had been re-routed a transmission from Isha Lastrow on the bridge for closer examination and follow-up. What he found was this:
"I have no purpose for this user, but I must know why I am being hunted"
And it both perplexed and fascinated him. Moving with haste and a sort of proficient grace that he lacked in movement but made up for with computers, Dorin began to work on figuring out what it was - for he'd a hunch that it might be that android that the Captain had been looking for. So far Dorin himself had been largely uninvolved in the ordeal, but that wasn't going to stop him now.
It didn't take him too terribly long to get it all straight and determine that yes, it matched up to what the Captain had been searching for. Before he could respond however, another message was sent along the same line. "Hunter, whom ever you are, I have detected your response on my beacon and disconnected it from all networks and deactivated it."
And then it was gone. Dorin gaped. He furiously worked through screens and signals and frequencies doing all sorts of science-things before becoming too exasperated, then doing what the IT department was best at: giving up.
Mostly, anyway. He hailed back to Isha - though poor timing it was since it was right in the middle of the tense communications between Aelyn and the mysterious Kampfer. Isha had to hastily squelch the call, then hunched over to whisper at him through her microphone so as to not disturb the meeting. Luckily it went unnoticed.
"What. She hissed in a hoarse whisper, "I'm busy."
"I just wanted to talk to you about that thing you sent me. It was a transmission from the bot that the Captain was looking for. I think I've got a good bead on it's location."
"Well what do you want me t'do about it?"
Dorin stammered. He hadn't thought about that part. "Uh, oh, well, uh..."
"Go down with Aleessa and pick it up then."
"Wha-?! Bu-"
"Shh! Just do it."
Isha ended the transmission and returned to pretending that she wasn't listening to Aelyna nd Kampfer, like everyone else.
Dorin sighed. It wasn't that he didn't like Aleessa. They just didn't have very compatable personalities. Maybe this would make for a good bonding experience, he mused - he had never been sent on any kind of mission paired with her before. He hailed her and began explaining the situation...
"Oh right-" Kete said with a kiddish chuckle, "I guess telling everyone you're an interstellar super-spy sort of defeats the purpose of being one huh?" But did he really think that she was an interstellar super-spy? Or was that a joke? It was impossible to tell with this weird since almost everything he said sounded and could be interpreted as a joke.
Then he turned his attention back to Christofer and ended up holding his hand out for a few seconds before awkwardly retracting it again. "Christofor, or Markov, or Toffi." Kete repeated, apparently not fully understanding the picture. "Those are all good names." He smiled, again looked back to the woman. She was following him. Ketin did not like that. Ketin liked following others, not being followed. Hypocritical? Very. But he knew he was harmless - directly, at least - others he could hardly know what their intentions were.
This was ironic given that his most powerful ability was knowing what other people's intentions were, but it was only in the short term - in terms or movement or things that they were about to do or say. If the long term goal was to capture him and send him back to the Empire? He had to rely on instinct and observation and distrust to determine that.
He was about to say something to her - probably something stupid, since the boy really didn't seem to have it all together - when he froze stiffly. the Eoclu had seen more of him than that for sure, she might have had some idea that there was more to him than just an idiot kid with a fake eye - but that wasn't going to stop him from being an idiot, whether it was true, untrue, or half true.
But he was frozen now. He had gone pale - white as a ghost - and suddenly looked as though he were gazing in shock and horror at a gigantic bug which had landed on the woman's head. This was an applicable comparison not because there was a gigantic bug on her head - the rather large, dime-sized beetle which flew by completely unnoticed and continued it's own adventure for many years to come is a tale for a different day - but because he seemed to be looking through her rather than at her.
Ketin had seen something he didn't like. The electromagnetic disturbance was waning it seemed, this was returning to him much of the clarity he had been so short of since landing on this planet. It was a damned good thing too, since he had just seen something the - as aforementioned - did not like.
He saw Kallenger.
Worse still?
She had seen HIM.
His ears went flat - this would be the first real, clear indication to Christofer that there might have been more to them than simple cosplay accessories since the movement was so distinct - and he took a moment to close his mouth and stop looking like he was about to say something. He had to think fast - on the surface it looked like he had just suddenly strung out, gone foggy for no apparent reason - though again, the Eoclu might have seen something else given her exceptional deductive and observational skills.
There were Kallenger's eyes, and there he was in Kallenger's eyes. She was in the jungle not too far from where Kete and his two new friends were. She was standing dead still and dead silent as twenty soldiers well trained in the art of fighting him and him alone got themselves into position. All were unseen and might as well have not existed at all for the moment - but they were there. He groped desperately for Kallenger's intentions but she had been trained specifically to resist that sort of mental broadcasting. She - and to a slightly lesser extent her soldiers - had a mind that was almost completely impenetrable to everything except sight. She was a machine specifically designed to be the end of him. She was terrifying. It had been a long time.
After a moment of absolutely spacing out, Kete came to life suddenly - and not in a manner of which one would have had even the slightest notion to expect. With no warning, no build up and certainly no context the half-breed hooked his foot around the Eoclu's ankle in a very, very unexpected surprise attack, giving a pull and - if it worked - sending her falling instantly. He did it so fast that unless someone had been assuming he would do it, it would take a moment to realize that it had been him at all. He didn't stop there either - in the same motion of tripping Nirix he swung out and with a white-knuckled fist socked Christofer square in the temple - or somewhere near there if he had been given cause to miss.
With both of them down or at least stunned for the moment, Kete would have - if nothing else - the chance to flee, springing away as fast as his legs could take him. He went bounding back down the path, leaped over a bench and kept going.
At the same time Kallenger would issue a pursuit. She came bursting from the trees some fifty feet away along with two of her heavily armed, black-armored soldiers. "Target northbound toward east park gate. Block all exits and get into covering positions!" She barked, though neither of the men with her responded - this might have meant she was talking to some other unseen soldier?
There was one more at least, he came strafing out of the jungle with his weapon already trained on Nirix and Toffi - he kept it leveled at them as he strafed by, then dissented and took off sprinting over the hill. The other soldiers moved around them, though they were hidden in various fashions and did not have any interest in either of Kete's 'friends'.
They couldn't be accomplices after all. Not after attacking them like that.
Kampfer laughed manically at Aelyn's serious response to him. "My poor man, You may not not feign ignorance but your arrogance sure does show" he said as he recovered from his laugh. "Alright, so called man of science...the concept of laws of time and space aren't meant for your ears to know, zis is meant for me and ze other Dimensional Lords, ordered by the Dimensional Lord of Time and Space, in vho in vhich is considered a god to zis parasitic alien species, to make sure Time and Space are not ripped apart" he explained with a serious tone. "Zose zeories are considered a forbidden since it violates ze laws of science...you just can't pluck atoms out of zin air and not expect disastrous results, ze more you do zat, ze more chaos is put into ze universe, vhich is not good" he continued to explain as he wiggled his finger like a mother would to her child for being naughty. "Plus I don't need to scan your ship because I can be right zere in zat very room!" he exclaimed as he teleported right in front of Aelyn's face. "Ze more you use zis technology, you vill attract ze Dendrils from deep space and put your people and zis planet's people in danger" he warned angrily making sure Aelyn can see his eyes and see that he is serious. As he finished his warning he teleported back to his command center on the planet. "I shall give you an offer, Aelyn...surrender your tech and I shall guarantee a planet for and your people to live on" Kampfer offered seeing if his negotiations can move the unmovable Aelyn. "If you don't do zis zen you bring disaster to your people and you vill need to live vith zat all your eternal life" he warned as he waited for Aelyn's response.
The fighting on the starport was fierce, but luckily no causalities on Maria's side, since port security are firing small arms and light energy weapons against the Doc-bots. The Doc-bot went around firing away there dual machine guns like mobsters with there Tommy guns killing anyone that got int the way. Many people escape form the starport, but still many more were trapped and sadly the trap citizens can't call for help since the small cruiser is jamming starport's communications. Maria laughs as she fires away her revolver, quick drawing on security officials and gun playing against the innocent. By this time Maria and her band of robotic killers are half way in clearing out the starport.
Petrovalyc gave an affirmatory little smile and nod at the mention of his arrogance showing. The Dimensional Lord appeared before him and he was surprised enough to warrant a raise of the brow - everyone else on the bridge too to it differenly and went for their weapons but the Captain held up a hand to order a hold on firing. They did.
Then he was gone again and back on the other side of the screen.
"I'm impressed Doctor, I've been trying to work out that kind of accuracy for some time now. Trying to move organic material alone that way only results in a fleshy soup on this end...But back to the point, let me get this straight." As he spoke, Isha and a few of the other IT and intelligence staff were finding every bit of information they could on the Dimensional Lords and feeding it into Aelyn's BrainPal, which organized it accordingly to keep his brain from getting overloaded or confused.
"The Lord of Time and Space is a god-figure to the Dendril, who are a parasitic race that intends to rip apart space-time. The Dendril are attracted to technology that tampers with interdimensional space-time, is this all correct?"
He paused to await a response before continuing. His voice took on a more meaningful tone now, eyes focusing. "Now let me ask you this, Doctor-" He was avoiding the mention of Kampfer's 'offer' for the moment it seemed, "Are you bound by the laws of Time and Space too? You've shown me that you have in your possession not only a variety, but a superior version of what I have created, the tech that attracts the Dendril. Presumably this means that you, to a lesser extent than I but still significantly, have the potential to attract them too. Now if the Lord of Time and Space exists to uphold the Laws of Time and Space, why does he allow his worshippers to go around ripping it apart? That can't possibly be legal."
It was a somewhat disjointed series of monologues, but it did seem to have a point.
"What I mean to ask you Doctor, is why you abide by these laws which have doubtless been imposed on you as well? It wouldn't make sense for the tech to only be forbidden from some and not others, even if those others are Lords themselves the technology is still what creates the problem. Why do the other Lords have the right to command you? Surely you're no less powerful than they are. Why not destroy the Dendril and gain access to a whole infinite spectrum of technology and power that you would be so arrogantly denied by Lords who believe they're superior to you?"
Then he was gone again and back on the other side of the screen.
"I'm impressed Doctor, I've been trying to work out that kind of accuracy for some time now. Trying to move organic material alone that way only results in a fleshy soup on this end...But back to the point, let me get this straight." As he spoke, Isha and a few of the other IT and intelligence staff were finding every bit of information they could on the Dimensional Lords and feeding it into Aelyn's BrainPal, which organized it accordingly to keep his brain from getting overloaded or confused.
"The Lord of Time and Space is a god-figure to the Dendril, who are a parasitic race that intends to rip apart space-time. The Dendril are attracted to technology that tampers with interdimensional space-time, is this all correct?"
He paused to await a response before continuing. His voice took on a more meaningful tone now, eyes focusing. "Now let me ask you this, Doctor-" He was avoiding the mention of Kampfer's 'offer' for the moment it seemed, "Are you bound by the laws of Time and Space too? You've shown me that you have in your possession not only a variety, but a superior version of what I have created, the tech that attracts the Dendril. Presumably this means that you, to a lesser extent than I but still significantly, have the potential to attract them too. Now if the Lord of Time and Space exists to uphold the Laws of Time and Space, why does he allow his worshippers to go around ripping it apart? That can't possibly be legal."
It was a somewhat disjointed series of monologues, but it did seem to have a point.
"What I mean to ask you Doctor, is why you abide by these laws which have doubtless been imposed on you as well? It wouldn't make sense for the tech to only be forbidden from some and not others, even if those others are Lords themselves the technology is still what creates the problem. Why do the other Lords have the right to command you? Surely you're no less powerful than they are. Why not destroy the Dendril and gain access to a whole infinite spectrum of technology and power that you would be so arrogantly denied by Lords who believe they're superior to you?"
"Not only is your aggroance is impressive but your ignorance too" Kampfer replied with a wide smile. "Zis vas not imposed by me or any other Lord...zis was mutually agreed upon between the Lords, ve don't have to follow but we seen universes get destroyed because they violated the laws of Time and Space in there respective universes and so ve try not to happen to any other universes and ve had a god job in doing zat" Kampfer explained. "The Dendrils do not vant to rip apart space-time, but to preserve it so zey as a species can continue on living. The Dimensional Lord of Time and Space, she orders them to find and destroy ze forbidden technology, and if zey can't she personally comes in and does it herself and zat is not vhat you vant. Also because I am a Dimensional Lord of TECHNOLOGY i am excepted from some of zese laws because my tech is not as ridiculous as yours, it exists so zat it can counter act your technology, technically repairing ze damage zat you have caused cith your tech. My tech zat I brought out is on ze border of breaking ze law but not so quite, plus zese laws are more for beings vho are not a Dimensional Lord" Kampfer explained to Aelyn trying to get him to understand. Kampfer chuckled a bit and said "Aelyn...if you zink I am a very powerful being compared to my Dimensional colleagues zen you are sadly mistaken. I am considered ze veakest among zem, my friend." as he crossed his arms looking Aelyn. "And destroying ze Dendril's isn't zat simple...Zey are scattered all over ze galaxy...at least one on every planet, lying dormant until something vakes it up" Ksmpfer said as his tone got lower, to more warning tone. "For all I know its awake and aware of your ship and sending a message as ve speak" he continued trying to scare Aelyn. "Maybe if you don't give up your tech you may see zere god and she vill take care of you" he continued vith his scare tactic.
"Anyway I am still vaiting on you for my offer I gave you" Kampfer asked slightly getting impatient form Aelyn's stalling. The Z-bot operator who was off screen was signaling Kampfer via hand signals about Kampfer's nearby fleets and notice the z-bot and just nodded his head towards him
"Anyway I am still vaiting on you for my offer I gave you" Kampfer asked slightly getting impatient form Aelyn's stalling. The Z-bot operator who was off screen was signaling Kampfer via hand signals about Kampfer's nearby fleets and notice the z-bot and just nodded his head towards him
Aelyn knew when to admit that he had been following the wrong path of logic - this was evident in the dissenting nods he gave in response to Kampfer's clarifications. Still however he would persist, not skipping a beat. Apparently he wanted to keep stalling.
"You're telling me you're the weakest among the Lords, and that the laws are a mutual agreement. Don't you see the problem here? A man of your position can't possibly be so stupid that he would ignore the most obvious danger he faces. You are the weakest of them and your domain is Technology - it's not something that the rest of them couldn't do without. You're like middle-management. What happens when the more powerful Lords decide they don't need you around any longer? You'll just roll over and die? Or hope that another of the weaker Lords will take your side? If the power differential is as drastic as you say then you are at the absolute mercy of the others whim. You're no better than me, or any human for that matter. You walk the line of the law but what happens when they decide to move the line? You'll fall, Doctor, and it will be the death of you. All because you were willfully ignorant of the truth."
Aelyn gave the words a moment to sink in before continuing, even if it didn't really accomplish anything it seemed like the thing to do. He leaned in closer to the monitor, leaning heavily with hands propping up on a railing. His tone lowered and became more meaningful, more intent with a distinct earnest.
"Doctor, you can only act as the Galactic Tech Police for as long as your overlords allow you. It's only a matter of time for you - but think about it. I may be a mere human but clearly if I am capable of creating technology to rival a god's without their help, imagine what I could do if given the right resources? If there is anyone in the Universe that you want as your ally it's me, because nobody else would be of any use to you and you know it. I don't want to fight, Doctor. I want to pursue science, I want to destroy these alien bugs if they do exist. Why would you give in to the Dendril and make a wasted ally of me when you could fight them off? I don't care how hard they are to kill - everything can be killed and it's only a matter of figuring out how. Once the Dendril are disposed of, why not go on to overtake the Lords who think themselves so superior to you? And don't try to tell me that they see you as equal Doctor, not if you're truly the weakest among them. If not overtake then at least build a defense, an insurance for your continued usefulness to them. Given the knowledge and resources you have at your disposal I could prove to be a very useful ally, Doctor. You'd have to be thoroughly stupid to continue on the path you're going."
Then, as an afterthought - "Besides, we both know I'm not going to give up my ship, and though I may stand no chance of destroying you we can agree I can hold my own. Even with your field-breakers we'd still end up in a pointless stalemate...And what fun would that be?"
"You're telling me you're the weakest among the Lords, and that the laws are a mutual agreement. Don't you see the problem here? A man of your position can't possibly be so stupid that he would ignore the most obvious danger he faces. You are the weakest of them and your domain is Technology - it's not something that the rest of them couldn't do without. You're like middle-management. What happens when the more powerful Lords decide they don't need you around any longer? You'll just roll over and die? Or hope that another of the weaker Lords will take your side? If the power differential is as drastic as you say then you are at the absolute mercy of the others whim. You're no better than me, or any human for that matter. You walk the line of the law but what happens when they decide to move the line? You'll fall, Doctor, and it will be the death of you. All because you were willfully ignorant of the truth."
Aelyn gave the words a moment to sink in before continuing, even if it didn't really accomplish anything it seemed like the thing to do. He leaned in closer to the monitor, leaning heavily with hands propping up on a railing. His tone lowered and became more meaningful, more intent with a distinct earnest.
"Doctor, you can only act as the Galactic Tech Police for as long as your overlords allow you. It's only a matter of time for you - but think about it. I may be a mere human but clearly if I am capable of creating technology to rival a god's without their help, imagine what I could do if given the right resources? If there is anyone in the Universe that you want as your ally it's me, because nobody else would be of any use to you and you know it. I don't want to fight, Doctor. I want to pursue science, I want to destroy these alien bugs if they do exist. Why would you give in to the Dendril and make a wasted ally of me when you could fight them off? I don't care how hard they are to kill - everything can be killed and it's only a matter of figuring out how. Once the Dendril are disposed of, why not go on to overtake the Lords who think themselves so superior to you? And don't try to tell me that they see you as equal Doctor, not if you're truly the weakest among them. If not overtake then at least build a defense, an insurance for your continued usefulness to them. Given the knowledge and resources you have at your disposal I could prove to be a very useful ally, Doctor. You'd have to be thoroughly stupid to continue on the path you're going."
Then, as an afterthought - "Besides, we both know I'm not going to give up my ship, and though I may stand no chance of destroying you we can agree I can hold my own. Even with your field-breakers we'd still end up in a pointless stalemate...And what fun would that be?"
Kampfer grinned at his ignorance of Dimensional lords and said "Aelyn, you make justifiable statements but zere completely vrong about us. Ve are not humans ve don't use each other like tools for our own gain" he crossed his arms in way that he is about school Aelyn in Dimensional culture. "I am not ze middle man for zem, technology is mine and only mine domain. Zey use forces zat are incompressible for science to explain. I maybe be the weakest but I have bested zem vith my experiments zat I have created. Only on rare occasions vill a dimensional lord vill go mad vith power but together as a group ve put in zere place. I am respected in ze dimensional counsel I have my say" Kampfer explained trying educate Aelyn. "Of course zere is not many of use, so ve technically see each other as family and ve discuss and compromise on disagreements unlike ze poor humans of Sol and you in zat matter, blinded for power and zinking he push others around via intimidation" Kampfer taunted Aelyn seeing if he can hit a nerve.
"Plus don't you zink I have already tried destroying ze Dendrils?" He mockingly questioned Aelyn. "Zey are an infection you can defend but a disease you can not kill" he explained looking Aelyn. "Ze only vay of killing zem off is killing all life in ze universe and got to zere home planet and destroy zere robust factories" he explained as he closed his eyes and open them back up looking at Aelyn.
"So stop stalling and let me here you answer for my offer Aelyn!" Kampfer yelled as his inpatients seem to rise.
"Plus don't you zink I have already tried destroying ze Dendrils?" He mockingly questioned Aelyn. "Zey are an infection you can defend but a disease you can not kill" he explained looking Aelyn. "Ze only vay of killing zem off is killing all life in ze universe and got to zere home planet and destroy zere robust factories" he explained as he closed his eyes and open them back up looking at Aelyn.
"So stop stalling and let me here you answer for my offer Aelyn!" Kampfer yelled as his inpatients seem to rise.
Everything had happened so fast, a rush of words and movement that Nirix had barely anytime to react to. She had seen signs, brief glimmers of what she thought was...unsual behavior for the energetic Half Breed. He had paused, a long and deep pause that one would take when they were thinking of a strategy. His escape. Kete looked right through her and the large amount of fear that creeped in his features was overwhelming. He had the look of one who was always on the run, fearful to trust even the slightest of movement or comment. It made sense now, Nirix thought to herself as she made contact with the ground below. His pattern of travel and seemingly perfect timing to make distractions; The Da'len had mastered the Vir Banal'ras more than the Eoclu had thought...
It was funny, almost comical to the Assassin. She wasn't mad or upset at what Ketin had done. Oh no, this only made her even more curious, more eager to seek him out and ask questions. Maybe the fall had damaged her brain or maybe she was really losing her sense of direction when an obviously dangerous situation arrived but Nirix wanted to pursue in this chase. She would be the first to find him, offer him refugee from whomever these people that desperately wanted to capture him. Nirix believed that he was a good person, believed that he could have a second chance at living a life that didn't involve him running all the time. Nirix would save him, this would be a form of atonement, a holy gift that the goddess Creya was offering the devout Eoclu.
Nirix would not ignore this chance.
She held her breath, listening to the footsteps and heartbeats of the armored soldiers that she knew were there but couldn't see. There were at least twenty, possibly more. Nirix had a gun strapped to her thigh, her favorite silenced pistol, the SD-70. She also had her monomolecular blade attached to her back but to kill with that would be messy...Currently she had three clips of ammo that held about five bullets. In fifteen seconds she could kill about half of the armored men in pursuit of Ketin. That was swell and all but how fast could Ketin run in that amount of time? Nirix would just have to figure it out, later. Letting her body react on its own, Nirix activated her cloaking device and removed her pistol from its holster. Silently she mumbled her ritual prayer in hopes that it would bring her ease in her task.
Arekalo, Lord of Hunters. Grant that my hands be steady, my strike be true, and my feet swift....
Her finger danced upon the trigger before she took aim, holding another breath.
And should the worst come to pass, grant me forgiveness....
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Her shots were quiet and precise, bring down three or at least gravely injuring a few of Kallenger's men. With her distraction made, she quickly glanced in the direction of the boy they had been conversating with earlier. She prayed he would at least be alright. But with that in mind, The stealthy Assassin made her escape.
It was funny, almost comical to the Assassin. She wasn't mad or upset at what Ketin had done. Oh no, this only made her even more curious, more eager to seek him out and ask questions. Maybe the fall had damaged her brain or maybe she was really losing her sense of direction when an obviously dangerous situation arrived but Nirix wanted to pursue in this chase. She would be the first to find him, offer him refugee from whomever these people that desperately wanted to capture him. Nirix believed that he was a good person, believed that he could have a second chance at living a life that didn't involve him running all the time. Nirix would save him, this would be a form of atonement, a holy gift that the goddess Creya was offering the devout Eoclu.
Nirix would not ignore this chance.
She held her breath, listening to the footsteps and heartbeats of the armored soldiers that she knew were there but couldn't see. There were at least twenty, possibly more. Nirix had a gun strapped to her thigh, her favorite silenced pistol, the SD-70. She also had her monomolecular blade attached to her back but to kill with that would be messy...Currently she had three clips of ammo that held about five bullets. In fifteen seconds she could kill about half of the armored men in pursuit of Ketin. That was swell and all but how fast could Ketin run in that amount of time? Nirix would just have to figure it out, later. Letting her body react on its own, Nirix activated her cloaking device and removed her pistol from its holster. Silently she mumbled her ritual prayer in hopes that it would bring her ease in her task.
Arekalo, Lord of Hunters. Grant that my hands be steady, my strike be true, and my feet swift....
Her finger danced upon the trigger before she took aim, holding another breath.
And should the worst come to pass, grant me forgiveness....
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Her shots were quiet and precise, bring down three or at least gravely injuring a few of Kallenger's men. With her distraction made, she quickly glanced in the direction of the boy they had been conversating with earlier. She prayed he would at least be alright. But with that in mind, The stealthy Assassin made her escape.
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